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03 Aug 2015 7:54:01am

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Your implications here are misleading in the context of the actual research: "Tropical cyclones, coral predation by crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS), and coral bleaching accounted for 48%, 42%, and 10% of the respective estimated losses,........ Importantly, the relatively pristine northern region showed no overall decline. ........ In the absence of COTS, coral cover would increase at 0.89% y−1, despite ongoing losses due to cyclones and bleaching."http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/09/25/1208909109

We know from the University of Florida that global tropical cyclone intensity remains at a 30 year low, totally divorced from CO2 trends, and so the crown of thorns starfish is the main issue.

AIMS says: "COTS outbreaks begin in the north and migrate southward on ocean currents over about a 15 year period."http://www.aims.gov.au/docs/research/biodiversity-ecology/threats/cots.htmlThat's the "pristine" north described above.

So it looks like there are complex natural things going on here, and climate change effects and human activity are almost completely irrelevant. Can we have more science and less politics please?